FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
MSLF Communications Dept.
Carina Constancio & MacKenzie Guy
(303)-292-2021
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S NEW TITLE IX REGULATIONS ARE UNLAWFUL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (May 16, 2024) – Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF), alongside Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF), has taken a firm stance against the Biden Administration’s new ideologically-driven Title IX regulations. This week, MSLF and SLF filed a lawsuit in Kansas federal court on behalf of Young America’s Foundation (YAF) and Moms for Liberty, two organizations deeply committed to upholding the foundational principles of the First Amendment.
Title IX is supposed to protect students from sex discrimination, and preserve the equal access and opportunities of female athletes at the K-12 and college levels. But since the beginning of his term, President Biden has attacked the protective framework of Title IX, hastily broadening the definition of “sex discrimination” to broadly encompass all sexual orientation and “gender identity” discrimination. Now, the Department of Education is trying to enshrine that radical change into federal regulations, to force practically every school in the country to adopt preferred-pronoun policies and restrictions on “harassing speech.”
The revamped Title IX language establishes new rules threatening discipline for students and faculty who use sex-based pronouns to refer to individuals as either male or female, or refuse to adopt “neo-pronouns” like they/them for peers who claim that they are neither male nor female. The new rule expands the definition of “sex-based harassment” so far that merely using non-preferred (i.e., biologically correct) pronouns or honorifics or otherwise expressing disagreement with transgender ideology will often constitute “harassment,” subjecting a student or teacher to formal discipline.
“This lawsuit is about safeguarding the rights of students, and preserving the principles of free speech,” said William Trachman of Mountain States Legal Foundation. “We refuse to stand idly by as the Biden Administration tramples on the constitutional rights of students and families. Speech codes and vague allegations of offensive harassment have no place on college campuses especially. Title IX was established to ensure equality and fairness, and we are committed to upholding these principles through legal action.”
SLF Executive Director Kimberly Hermann states, “Parents have had enough with the Biden Administration. They’ve been investigated by the FBI, they’ve been stonewalled over open records requests, and now they’re being told that they can’t raise their children to hold certain views about biology and gender. As if that weren’t enough, when their children go off to college, they are met with constant censorship from peers and administrators. The Department of Education’s drastic unconstitutional changes to Title IX will only further weaponize the campus thought police. We are proud to stand with these parent and student organizations as they fight back against the administration’s most drastic steps yet.”
The lawsuit was joined by the states of Kansas, Wyoming, Utah, and Alaska.
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Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) is a nonprofit, public-interest legal firm established in 1977. MSLF is dedicated to individual liberty, limited and ethical government, and the benefits of the free enterprise system. MSLF defends its clients through pro bono litigation and seeks victory for its clients at the highest level possible to establish binding legal precedents to benefit millions of Americans. Through its litigation and public discourse, MSLF educates the American public on the threat unrestrained government presents to our liberties. Learn more at mslegal.org